By Rob Potter
MONTICELLO — The annual spring 3 vs. 3 basketball tournament at Monticello High School keeps evolving.
Last Wednesday evening, for the third consecutive year, students in Monticello High School’s Sports, Entertainment & Event Management/Marketing Class teamed up with students in the school’s Academy of Finance and the Village of Monticello Parks and Recreation Department to conduct a 3 vs. 3 hoops competition for students.
Two popular additions to this year’s event were a 3-point shooting contest and a slam dunk competition.
Members of the Academy of Finance set up a concession stand outside of the Monticello High School gymnasium to sell snacks to students and adults throughout the evening.
In the first year of the Academy of Finance, which is a two-year program under the direction of Wendy Levinson, the students take classes in Accounting and Financial Services/Business Economics. After completing that first year, students have the opportunity for a paid summer internship.
During the second year, students participate in classes in Entrepreneurship and Financial Decision Making. In addition, college-level courses are taught.
The Sports, Entertainment & Event Management/Marketing Class, which is taught by Maria Carpinone, studies sports and entertainment from the perspective of management and marketing. The basic management functions of complementing, controlling, organizing and planning are covered as they relate to college, amateur and professional sports.
Senior Maria Pavese is one of the students in the Sports, Entertainment & Event Management/Marking Class.
“There are 22 of us in the class this year – seniors, junior and sophomores,” she said. “We’ve taken trips to the Baseball Hall of Fame and a New York Knicks basketball game.”
Pavese said that she has enjoyed taking the course. Following graduation in June, she plans to major in sports management at St. John’s University.
Another senior, Carly Bulaga, noted that Jonathan Hyman, who has helped to organize the annual 3 vs. 3 event since its inception, visited the Sports, Entertainment & Event Management/Marketing Class twice in recent weeks.
“He talked about the rules for the tournament and helped us plan,” Bulaga said.
She noted that the members of the class wrote press releases for the school newspaper and Web page.
“It’s getting better each year,” sophomore Tamika Willis, who is also taking the Sports, Entertainment & Event Management/Marketing Class, said of the hoops tourney. “Everybody in the class has a job tonight.”
Willis, Bulaga and Ty’nessa Washington were helping things run smoothly at the scorers’ table. They also helped by running upstairs to get bottled water for the evening’s referees – Hyman, Betsy Conaty, Steve Kapito, Michael Levinson and Doug Murphy.
“This is a good event,” said Washington, a senior. “There are 10 teams playing tonight. Each team can have up to five players and no less than four.”
Another member of the Sports, Entertainment & Event Management/Marketing Class, senior Mat Goldsmith, concurred with his classmates about the success of the event.
“It went pretty well,” said Goldsmith, who ran the scoreboard and announced the action on the court.
In the tournament’s championship game, Team 8 defeated Team 6 by the final score of 8-7.
Members of Team 8 included captain Chris VanGordon, James Eason, Teuta Gashi, Juan Pena and Tyrus Walker.
Members of Team 6 included captain John Hernandez, Kenny Clark, Mandee Heal, Kendall Mitchell and Kevon Willet.
Following the title game, members of Team 8 received T-shirts donated by the Monticello Police men’s Benevolent Association.
In addition, baseball caps donated by Village of Monticello Mayor Gordon Jenkins were presented to the individual award winners. They were: MVP – John Hernandez, Mr. Defense – Dior Jackson, Sportsmanship – Kevin Watson, Slam Dunk champion – Wesley Bedgood, 3-Point Shootout champion – Kéarya Sanders.
Hyman was pleased that the event “gets better each year.”
“It’s nice to see these teenagers come out to play and have fun,” he said. “You don’t have to be a member of the varsity basketball team, everybody has a chance to play.”
The other teams involved in the tournament included:
Team 1: Dorentina Rraci (captain), Charles Patterson, Dom Rodriguez and Tyquan Walker.
Team 2: Jordan Herzog (captain), Rodney Allen, Demetrie Elliot, Frank Small and Kevin Watson.
Team 3: Matt Strong (captain), Chris Cardona, Marcus Daniels, Dior Jackson and Nef Leon.
Team 4: Pollyanna Palhano (captain), Devon Mathis, Kéarya Sanders, Nyoki Tate and Rob Venditti.
Team 5: Mitchell Waichman (captain), Diego Cabesas, Darren Fraser and Ruben Robelledo.
Team 7: Wesley Bedgood (captain), Austin Billig, Jeffrey Brown, Jesse Kapito and Devon Singleton.
Team 9: Thomas Gonzalez (captain), Arton Gashi, Joey Gonzalez and Owen Goodman
Team 10: Cory Waichman (captain), Tyler Hutchens, Aaron Levine, Eric Shambley and Avinadert Vega.